Not as Nutty as you Think

[Monique Chambers]

Monique walked into her classroom, pleased to be back, even the previous three months had been complete bliss, being able to spend time with her daughter, and cheering her on at shows, though she was glad to be back.

She had arrived back on campus a few days earlier, and had put all of the laundered covers back onto the beanbags, which were scattered around the front of the room, with the desks in an "n" shape around the walls for the students who wished to sit at a table rather than one of the bean bags.

She put her bag on her desk chair and pulled out a clear plastic bag full of peanuts, still in their shells, and then she walked up to her whiteboard and began to wrote out the stages playwriting:

THE FIVE STAGES OF PLAYWRITING

Stage One: Finding Inspiration
Any number of things may inspire you. Perhaps it starts with a character you are interested in developing. Maybe this character is based on someone you already know, maybe it is based on an interesting stranger you saw, or maybe it is a character borne out of your own imagination. Of course, you may be inspired to write because you have a particular issue or concern you would like to address. Or, you may have an interesting scenario, plot line, or simply a brief dialogue that you are interested in staging. Any of these things can be a starting point for you and your play.

Stage Two: Creating Characters
If a particular character has inspired you, you’re already at Stage Two! If not, think about what character (and additional characters!) you want to create. What sort of characters will help you develop your play and who do you want to be your protagonist (main character)? What relationships do your characters need to have? What type of interactions will help propel your story-line? Are they friends, family members, enemies, or strangers? Are they old or young? What are their greatest hopes or fears? Where do they live and what do they do with their time? Do they have any special skills or unique characteristics?

Step Three: Plotting a Story
Now that you have a basic understanding of your character(s), you need to plot your storyline. If you already had an issue or concern that you want to address think about how the character is connected to this issue or concern. If you are uncertain as to what the major concern in the play is (or if you are still trying to figure out how your characters are connected to a particular social issue), ask yourself the following questions: What does your character want or need? Is he or she trying to achieve a particular goal and if so, how? What is the biggest problem, obstacle, or fear facing this character? In your story, does s/he succeed or fail in getting what s/he wants? How does the failure or success affect the character?

Step Four: Transforming the Story into a Play
Think about the “Basic Play Elements” and how your story can be shaped to follow these basic play elements. What will happen at the beginning, middle, and end of the play? What sorts of different scenes will represent the Balanced Situation? What scene(s) will portray the Disturbances or Conflict? What scene will dramatize the Climax of the play and what scene will represent the play’s Resolution?

Once you have your ideas mapped out, you can begin to write your play. You may want to start with a monologue delivered by your main character or a scene between two characters that reveals a conflict or obstacle. When you’re writing, don’t think too hard about your characters’ dialogue. Instead, allow your characters to “come alive” and tell their story. It doesn’t have to be perfect. As long as you are writing your story and your characters are expressing your concerns or interests, you’re doing it right!

Stage Five: Revision, Revision, Revision!
Now that you’ve written the scene(s) in your story, see if someone will read it out loud for you (if you really, really can’t find anyone to read it out loud, read it out loud yourself). Ask yourself the “significant questions”: Does it make sense? Does it do a good job of establishing the characters, the conflict, and obstacles? What could you do to help make the scenes better? Are the scenes, storyline, and characters plausible enough? Can you make the transitions between scenes smoother? After hearing it, what would you like to change? REMEMBER: Writing is not about writing the "right thing" the first time, it's about rewriting. In other words, it’s about revision, revision, revision!

She then walked to the door and greeted her students as they entered the room.

---

Calling:
@diana
Gretchen Holmes
@running5
@jeanneclaire
@kate

Adonya van Rutherford
@neigh
Elizabeth Toman
@rhythm
Othello Buskirk
Thomas Oliver

[Othello Buskirk]

Othello couldn't have been happier for a class right before lunch. It had been a long morning and he didn't think he would be able to sit in another classroom after this lesson. His head was pounding and he was finding it hard to follow things, though he pushed on as he normally did, and lunch would give him a chance to refuel before the equestrian classes.

Hey, Ms Chambers!" He greeted the teacher with a little more enthusiasm then he felt and looked around the room. He quickly spotted the denim bean bag he normally sat in, but with the way he was feeling, he didn't think he could easily sit that low to the ground, so he went and sat at one of the tables with his back to the window. As he read what was on the bed, he took a drink from the ever-present PowerAde bottle that was in his bag, and broke a bit off the cookie he had been snacking on over the morning, hoping that keeping his sugar levels up would combat against his meds.

His eyebrows lifted as he read everything on the board. He'd wait until class started though before he started copying it down, just in case Ms Chambers had a printed copy for them.

[Thomas Oliver]

Tommy loved drama class and all but skipped his way down to the room - that is if skipping didn't make him look so damn un-masculine! Though he did take the time to greet the other students who spoke to him, and sharing smiles with the odd girl who sent one in his direction.

He walked into the classroom and swept a bow toward the teacher. "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon." He rose from his bow and grinned at the woman before he swept into the room and over to the skull and crossbones beanbag that he had claimed the year before.

Sitting down, he turned his attention to the board and grinned. The though of playwriting had always intrigued him, though he wasn't planning on striving to be one of the greats, he wouldn't mind writing a play of his own someday.

He pulled his notebook out of his bag and jotted down summarised notes from what was on the board. Even if their teacher had a printed copy for them, he remembered better if he wrote things out in his own words - or scribed it verbatim - and it gave him something to do while he waited for the class to start.

[Elizabeth Toman]

Libby walked down the hall, a smile permanently etched to her lips, regardless of how she felt toward the person she was smiling at, wondering why she was taking drama. It wasn't like it was going to help her get into the Olympics.

She walked into the classroom and gave the teacher an even look before her megawatt smile returned. "Good morning, Ms Chambers. It's good to be back." Sure, she was thinking otherwise only a few moments ago, but she wasn't going to tell that to the teacher.

Looking around the room, she smiled as her eyes landed on Tommy and she skipped over before she dropped down into the pink Hello Kitty bean bag beside him. She pulled her folder out of her bag and looked at the board. "Please say she's got all that on a hand out for us." She whimpered as she looked at all of the writing, though she knew that she could just copy the headings and google it when she got back to her room and print it out for herself.

She settled back in her beanbag as she watched the other students enter the room and take their seats, though she narrowed her eyes if any female came too close to her. The males though, she watched carefully, and would find another seat if a better specimen entered then the one she was sitting with.

[Adonya van Rutherford]

Blythe had to stop by her locker before she made her way to Theater and Drama class, having forgotten to throw her new drama notebook into her bag when she'd been by it earlier. Once that was done, she made her way towards the Drama classroom, entering with a broad smile on her face, “Salve, Ms. Chambers!” She couldn't even remember where she had first learned the greeting, but Latin was a fitting beginning for Drama class, at least, in her mind.

Her smile didn't waver as she glanced around the room, assessing who was present, not even fading as she caught sight of that little upstart. Spotting a ocean-blue bean-bag with fish decorations on it, she grabbed it, dragging it into the front middle of the room and settling herself down before she once again retrieved her notebook and a pencil. Leaning back in her seat, she raised an eyebrow at the amount of words written on the board. Flipping her page open to the first page, she wrote down the headings, along with the date, although she didn't bother writing down anything more. That was what the internet was for, after all.

Once she'd finished, she left her notebook open to the first page, although she stuck the pencil through the binding, so that it would be out of the way, and then leaned back, waiting for the class to start.

[Deleted]

Amber wasn't completely sure why she had chosen to take Drama class.  She had some interest but no experience.  Her and her brother would sometimes pretend to be fictional characters, but that was just playing and not real acting.  

Amber walked into drama class and smiled when the teacher greeted her and replied with a "hello."  She looked around the room and the only person who she had met before was Tommy.  She thought about sitting next to him, but he seemed chummy with the other girl sitting by him and they were sitting in bean bags.  It occurred to Amber that she had never sat in a bean bag before.  She was a little uncomfortable with the idea and she had been trying a lot of new things lately, and if she had to take notes or anything like that it would be easier at a desk.  "Hi Tommy" she greeted, as she walked past him and took a seat at one of the desk, keeping a bit of distance between her and the boy she didn't know, who was the only other person sitting at a desk.

Amber looked up at the board that started reading.  This was a lot of information to take it.  She hoped that she would have enough time to read it all.

[Deleted]

Jason wrinkled his nose in disgust as he walked by a couple sloppily exchanging saliva. Disgusting, he thought. He 'accidentally' bumped the guy's shoulder, twisting his head back to offer a quick but not quite sincere apology. He shook his head in annoyance as he turned the corner towards drama class. Tossing the matter from his mind, Jason greeted Ms. Chambers as he walked through the door. He grinned as he saw the distinct but very familiar set-up of the classroom.

Glancing around the room, he saw only familiar faces, though he hadn't properly met most of them. He spotted a light purple beanbag covered with a daisy pattern and thought, Why not? After having been in the class for one year, Jason had become more comfortable and willing to try things outside his comfort zone. Theater would never be as important to him as music was, but it was a fun interest to explore. "Wow. Wonder how long that took her." He muttered to himself as he looked at the words covering the whiteboard.

He pulled his white drama notebook from his bag and flipped it to a clean page. He didn't write anything, however, put kept his arm there as a placeholder while he doodled a line or two of music score on the back cover.

[Monique Chambers]

When the bell sounded, Monique closed the classroom door and walked back to her desk where she emptied the bag of peanuts into a black top hat. She then faced her class with a grin. "Welcome to drama class." She greeted the students. "For those of you I have not had the pleasure of meeting, I am Ms Chambers. For those of you I do know, welcome back. We are going to start the year with scriptwriting." She shook the hat and walked toward the students. "I'd like for you to please reach into the hat and pull out the main character of your play." She wiggled her eyebrows as she walked around. "Please don't peel and eat your star."

Once everyone had selected a nut, she placed the hat back on her desk and gathered a stack of papers, which she then walked around the room, handing them out as well. "The information from the board." She explained before she walked back to the front centre of the room. "This bit you will need to write down though." She waited until the students were ready. "You have the next twenty minutes to get to know the star of your play. Study your peanut, using all of your senses - except taste of course." She then began to write on the board as she spoke. "How did it get the markings it has?
Is it damaged, or in good shape?
Why is it the size it is?
How old is it?
Is it rich, or poor?
Is it male, or female?
What kind of house does it live in?
What kind of job does it have?
What does it do for fun?
What kind of personality does it have?

"Then you need to create a character profile for your peanut, which will look like this."

Character Profile
Name: ___________________________ Age: ____________________
Family: _________________________________________________
Habitat: _____________________________________________________
Job: ______________________________________________________
Greatest Wish or Need: _________________________________________
Greatest Fear: _______________________________________________
Most Important or Special Being: ____________________________________

[Othello Buskirk]

Leo sat up a little straighter as the teacher greeted the class and said they would be working on script writing. He arched an eyebrow as she went on about picking their star, but not peeling or eating them. He put his hand into the hat and took out an object and laughed at the shelled peanut he held in his hand.

He blew out a relieved breath as Ms Chambers then walked around handing them the information that was written on the board. He placed the peanut carefully on the desk as he picked up his pen and began to copy down the questions the woman was writing on the board, then turned to a fresh page and wrote up the character profile.

He then put the pen down and picked up the peanut once again, really studying it this time; looking at every line, shape and mark on it before he started answering the questions:

How did it get the markings it has? Was a spy in the military and was captured and tortured before escaping
Is it damaged, or in good shape? Good shape, as he needed to stay in good shape for his job, and when he retired from the military, he just kept in shape
Why is it the size it is? Being too big would have made his job in the military difficult
How old is it? Mid-forties
Is it rich, or poor? Rich
Is it male, or female? Male
What kind of house does it live in? Mansion, inherited it from his parents
What kind of job does it have? Defence Attorney
What does it do for fun? Plays video games
What kind of personality does it have? He's a kind charismatic person, which suits him for his job. He never seems to have a bad word to say about anyone, and just because he seems to be made of money, he's not frivolous.

He put his pen down and pulled out his I-pad and brought up google, into which he typed "name generator" and tapped into the first link he then did a search for male names until he found one he liked and began to fill in the character profile:

Character Profile
Name: Nero Yannic Montero Age: 44
Family: Mother and father deceased, only child, never married
Habitat: Lives in the city, though it happy anywhere
Job: Defence Attorney
Greatest Wish or Need: To have a family
Greatest Fear: Fire
Most Important or Special Being: He loves his adopted Rottweiler

Work done, he nodded his head, happy with what he had.

[Thomas Oliver]

Tommy grinned and lifted a hand in a salute as Amber greeted him as she walked passed to go and sit at a table. "These are more comfortable." He said with a shrug, though he could understand the reasoning to sitting at a table.

He turned his attention to the teacher as she began the lesson. He reached up onto the hat and pulled out an object, groaning when it seemed that he had taken out the smallest shelled nut that he could possibly have found. "My little Mini-me." He said as he patted the object.

He took the proffered sheet next and then listened as Ms Chambers went over what they would be doing with their nuts. He looked down at his again and gave a pitiful sigh and then grinned as he tucked it into the top of his folder and started writing down everything that being written up on the board. He then picked up the nut again and studied it. Holding the object in one hand, he grabbed the pen in his other hand and started answering the questions:

How did it get the markings it has? Has a few scars from living on the streets
Is it damaged, or in good shape? Pretty good shape
Why is it the size it is? Tiny due to the lack of food
How old is it? Teenager
Is it rich, or poor? Poor
Is it male, or female? Female
What kind of house does it live in? Lives in alleys
What kind of job does it have? Thief
What does it do for fun? Reads
What kind of personality does it have? She's pretty shy, pretends to be a boy, is friendly to younger street kids and will help anyone who needs it, though is quite possessive of her own things

He looked at the nut as he tried to work out what her name would be

Character Profile
Name: Alexandra (known as Lex on the streets) Ariadne Age: Thirteen
Family: None
Habitat: Lives on the streets of New York City
Job: Thief, picks pockets, steals food if needed, she can sing though so if she can get a gig at a bar singing, she'll do it.
Greatest Wish or Need: To have an actual home
Greatest Fear: Being caught by the police or social services
Most Important or Special Being: The necklace she has hidden in her shoe

Tommy arched his eyebrows at the peanut and then at what he had written, he didn't even want to know where his ideas had come from.

[Deleted]

He clenched the note from his previous teacher, he wanted to ask a simple question yet they rambled on about it and so he was late. He made his way to his next class, once he got there he saw that the class was large and so he walked to the teacher and handed her the note, ”Sorry.” He picked a peanut and sat down.

Jackson pulled out his notebook and listened to Ms. Chambers’ spiel. Once she was done he wrote down what she had written on the board. After that was done he looked at his peanut and studied it. It was a peanut nothing out of the ordinary, it was semi-symmetrical, top and bottom and the pattern that it had, and come to think of it it was a pretty little peanut other than the dark mark across part of its shell.

How did it get the markings it has? From being beaten by her husband
Is it damaged, or in good shape? In pretty good shape
Why is it the size it is? Petite
How old is it? Early Thirties
Is it rich, or poor? Fairly Rich
Is it male, or female? Female
What kind of house does it live in? House
What kind of job does it have? Stay at home Mother
What does it do for fun? Cooks & Reads
What kind of personality does it have? She is quiet and a push over, she doesn’t talk all that much and is obedient to her husband. She is caring and diligent mother. She is tidy and hates when there is a mess anywhere in the house. Essentially she is a maid with privileges and that is what he husband tells her all the time.

Jackson thought for a while and looked back over at what he had written and chuckled to himself. He got all that out of a peanut.

Character Profile
Name: Taylor Smith Age: 32
Family: Spouse: Gregory Smith; Children: Hayley Smith (10) & Joshua Smith (8)
Habitat:Suburban Neighborhood
Job: Stay at home Mother
Greatest Wish or Need: To run away from her husband
Greatest Fear: Her husband
Most Important or Special Being: Her children

He sat his pen down and read back over everything to make sure he was ok with it, though he realized it sounded more like a female had written this. He shrugged and waited for Ms. Chambers to continue or give more directions.

[Deleted]

The teacher started talking before Amber could finish reading what was on the board.  The assignment was weird, and intimidating.  After she got her peanut, she finished reading what was on the board and then stared at the peanut.  She could see some markings that could distinguish it from other peanuts, but she wasn't sure how she was going to get anything out of it.  She set the peanut down and got to work, not thinking much about the peanut.


"How did it get the markings it has?
some from discipline and some from rough play
Is it damaged, or in good shape?
fairly good shape
Why is it the size it is?
small
How old is it?
child
Is it rich, or poor?
wealthy
Is it male, or female?
male
What kind of house does it live in?
castle
What kind of job does it have?
Prince 
What does it do for fun?
plays pretend games
What kind of personality does it have?
shy and timid


When she was done with the first part, she looked at the peanut again, and looked again at what she had written.  It actually kind of fit.


Character Profile
Name: Charles  Henry the Third  Age: seven 
Family: parents/king and queen 
Habitat: castle and grounds
Job: Prince (and one day to be king)
Greatest Wish or Need: more attention from his parents
Greatest Fear: his mean governess 
Most Important or Special Being: his pony